Dashing Through the Snow
by ladycobert
Summary: Cobert Winter Wonderland Smut Exchange: Cora decides to help Robert have an afternoon away from "the children" by restoring his parents' old sleigh and whisking him to a far corner of the estate. Set approximately ten years after Series 4.
1. In a one horse open sleigh

"Now, keep your eyes covered, Robert. No peeking." Cora led her husband by the arm through the snow, glancing at him at intervals to make certain he still held his hand over his eyes.

"Why are we going to the barns?" he asked in some confusion.

Cora halted and stamped her foot, snow leaping up around her boot and coating it in white. "Robert Crawley," she exclaimed in irritation, "I told you not to peek!"

Chuckling, Robert kept his hand carefully over his eyes and shook his head. "I did no such thing, darling one. But I think you underestimate how well I know my own estate."

"Well," Cora conceded, tugging on his arm to get him to walk with her again and laughing faintly, "you _have_ been living here for sixty-two years."

Robert groaned. "Don't remind me how old I am, Cora." He stepped lightly, enjoying having Cora's arm wrapped tightly around his.

"It's not as if I'm not older than you are, and you don't hear me complaining."

"No, my dear. You never complain about getting older. I should take a leaf out of your book concerning that." In fact, he often marveled at how graciously, how beautifully his wife wore her age. Her eyes still sparkled with an inner light. The wrinkles around them crinkled when she smiled in a way that made him want to press his lips to each one, because they indicated how happy they'd been over the past decade, despite the inevitable traumas life dealt them. Of course, he'd never let on, but he knew that her hair retained its glorious dark hue thanks to the little bottle of color in her dressing table drawer.

And, most wonderfully, she continued to exhibit great energy and dexterity. He grinned as he thought of some very particular examples of this.

"Robert, what might you be smiling at, pray tell?"

Pressing her arm, he equivocated smoothly, "Oh, I'm simply happy to be walking with you, sweetheart."

"Well," she said, "I like that then." She stopped them once more, grinning herself now at what stood before them. "You can look now, Robert."

Robert moved his hand and opened his eyes, fastening them on a handsome sleigh hitched up to one of their horses. A groom held the reins, patting the horse's neck to keep her calm. She twitched her head, and Robert heard the pealing of sleigh bells. The sleigh itself had been piled with blankets, greenery tied to the posts in the back of it.

"Do you like it, darling? I thought we could have a sleigh ride, since the snow is perfect for it." Her arm squeezed his in her excitement.

He chuckled and looked at her, all bright eyes and pink cheeks. "And just who is going to drive this sleigh for us, Cora?"

"I will," she piped up. "Papa taught me that first winter I was here, remember?"

Shaking his head, he kept grinning. "I suppose that slipped my mind." He examined the sleigh, his brows drawing together in thought. "This sleigh looks familiar to me."

"It was the one Mama and Papa used to take their drives in together. It had fallen into complete disrepair, but I had it fixed and outfitted for us to use. Doesn't it look just like new?" Cora withdrew her arm from his and stepped over to the groom to take the reins. With a nod and a final pat to the horse, the groom departed. Cora held the reins between her gloved hands, smiling at him.

Robert's face softened into a nostalgic smile as his eyes ran along the curves of the sleigh. "Yes, it does, Cora. I'd forgotten they used to do that. To get away from us, I'm sure." He chuckled and looked at his wife. "Why now?"

Cora tilted her head and shrugged. "You keep saying how much you'd like to have an afternoon alone. With all the children in the house –"

Closing his eyes, Robert passed a gloved hand over his brow. "God love them, they're a joy, but Christmas always riles them up. And they've been especially trying this holiday – and it's nearly a week after New Year! If I have to mediate one more argument between George and Charlie or tell Sybbie not to terrorize little Violet, I'll scream. And Rosy has simply decided that bouncy horsey on Grandpapa's knee is the only thing that will make her happy anymore. And don't get me started on the others... They're wearing me out, Cora!"

"Well, darling, this afternoon – and perhaps more afternoons if you enjoy this – you get your time away from them. I suppose in the same way your parents got away from us. I hope you don't mind having one person's company, however. Since you don't know how to drive the sleigh." She grinned at him as he opened his eyes and smiled.

Robert closed the distance between them and bent to press a sweet kiss to her lips. "Being alone with you is a far better treat than simply being alone, my love."

"I'm happy to hear that, Robert. Shall we?" She gestured toward the sleigh, her brows raised with mirth.

Pressing another kiss to her cheek, he helped her into the sleigh, then went around the back of it to slip beneath the blankets himself.

"Thank you, darling," Cora said brightly when Robert tucked the blankets securely around her. Chirruping to the horse, Cora flicked the reins, and the animal walked them around the barns and then began trotting through the snow.

Robert slid an arm around Cora's shoulders, rubbing his hand over her upper arm through her coat. Her expert maneuvering of the sleigh fascinated him; over four decades had come and gone since Papa had taught her to drive, and they'd not had many opportunities to utilize her knowledge.

"I suppose we won't be ending up in a drifted bank, the way you are handling this, Cora," he remarked, his voice raised above the melodic jingle of the bells on the horse's harness.

"Why would you say that?" She glanced around at his wide grin.

"Oh, you know, from the song. When they go for a ride in that one-horse open sleigh and get caught in a bank?" He chuckled, sidling closer to her on the low seat.

Cora laughed, a musical peal that rose over the sound of the bells. "Well, I certainly hope we don't. Only the groom knows we've gone out in the sleigh."

"I rather like that, actually." He fell silent, alternately taking in the scenery of the estate as they glided along and watching the precise flicks of Cora's wrists as she guided the horse's turns. It was peaceful, serene, and he smiled as the distance between them and the rowdy children grew.

After a while, Cora pulled on the reins, calling out a low "whoa" for the animal to halt and stand still. Robert looked around, momentarily confused at their stop, but his brow cleared after he recognized where they were.

"Our favorite tree," he said, smiling at her.

She nodded, wrapping the reins around the hooks in the front of the sleigh. "I thought it would be nice to see it covered in snow like this. It's been a long time since we did."

"That Valentine's Day nearly ten years ago, if I'm remembering correctly." He caressed her face, running his thumb over her cheekbone.

Biting her lip, Cora blushed and lowered her lashes. "You are. We walked here that time though." She raised her eyes and lifted a hand to brush gloved fingers through the silver hair at his temple.

"I loved that. And I love this too." He pressed a soft kiss to her jawline, then held her gaze. "And I love you. Thank you for this."

Her fingers curled around his hand, wringing it gently. "And the afternoon isn't over yet, darling." Twitching the blanket aside, she left the sleigh before Robert could say anything.

Removing the blanket from across his lap, he backed out of the sleigh. The next thing he knew, a snowball had hit him square in the chest, the snow falling onto the ground at his feet. He looked up to see his wife's smirk, her eyes glittering as she fashioned a second snowball between her gloves.

Robert scraped his hand through the snow, gathering enough of it to form a large ball. "Two can play at that game, you minx," he laughed.

But as he sent the snowball flying in her direction, she effortlessly evaded it, sticking her tongue out at him and hurling another his way. Not as quick as she, apparently, Robert tried to dodge it, letting out a profane exclamation when it crashed into his arm. Cora laughed at him and danced upon her toes in triumph. The horse turned its head, shaking it with a whiny, as if rolling her eyes at their antics.

"You might need to get your eyes checked, darling," Cora sang out, creating another neat snowball and, side-stepping his next offering gracefully, chortled when hers collided solidly with the back of his neck, Robert having bent again to collect more snow.

"Bloody hell, woman, that's cold!" he shouted, rubbing the bare skin vigorously and shaking the snow from his hair and off his scarf.

"Robert, it's snow. It's meant to be cold, silly." She continued to dance around on the tips of her boots, utterly enchanting in her merriment. "Even Rosy knows that. And she can barely walk," she chirped.

Shaking his head, Robert made another snowball and stepped closer to her. Cora saw him move and began backing away, grinning wildly, beginning to giggle. He raised the snowball, and she turned, running.

"No, Robert!" she giggled. "You can't get me!"

"We'll see," he called out, his breath producing visible clouds of steam that trailed out behind him as he crunched through the snow after her.

Cora wove back and forth, unwilling to give him a steady target. She kept laughing, panting with the effort of eluding him. She gained their tree and hid behind the trunk. For a moment, she heard nothing. Worried at this sudden silence, she cautiously leaned around the trunk, saying, "Robert?"

That's when Robert struck, throwing the snowball into her chest. With a pronounced, "Gah!" Cora fell backwards into the snow.

Panicking, thinking he'd hit her too hard, he rushed to her side, yelling, "Cora? Darling? Are you alright?" He knelt beside her.

Suddenly, her arms shot up and grabbed him about the waist, pulling him down on top of her. "Well, I had thought about making a snow angel," she explained, "but this is better." She observed his astonishment transform into a smile and held him closer, tilting her head up to crush her lips to his.

Robert slipped a hand from its glove, placing it just below her ear and tracing a finger along her jaw. When she'd ended the kiss, he murmured. "I already have a snow angel." Slipping his other arm under her waist, he rolled them over, and he grinned up at her. "You have snow in your hair," he whispered.

"I'm not surprised," she replied, leaning down to rub her lips lightly over his, her gloved fingers beneath his chin.

"Well, this certainly has a way of making a man feel young again." Robert smiled at her. "In addition to being far from children shrieking 'Grandpapa!' at the top of their voices."

Cora's visage became tender, her eyes softening as she ran the fingers of her other hand over his coat lapels underneath her. "A grandpapa you may be, my love, but that doesn't mean you – we – aren't still young."

Capturing his lips again in a heated kiss, Cora set out to prove it to him.


	2. Laughing all the way

After a while of rolling about in the snow, kissing, Robert cupped Cora's face in his hands – both bare now – and smiled up at her. "As much as I like where this is going, darling, I think perhaps this setting would be a bit uncomfortable."

Cora lifted an eyebrow, but kept grinning, and rubbed her hands along the front of his coat. "And where exactly did you think this was going?"

"Um…" he said, momentarily confused.

Laughing at his obvious bewilderment, Cora flicked snow out of his hair. "I'm only teasing, Robert. But don't you think the children will set upon us as soon as we step in the door? It's still their tea time."

"What else would you suggest?" He chuckled, threading his fingers into her hair and looking at her lovingly. As much as they had continued to enjoy their marital intimacies over the years, both had also become more and more partial to enjoying them in their own room, generally in their own bed – where they didn't have to worry so much about being interrupted or if they fell asleep together afterward. "I would say the sleigh, since you've seen fit to put so many nice blankets in there, but I wouldn't want to spook the horse."

Cora grinned at him while he continued to chuckle, running a gentle thumb over the lines this formed around his eyes. She still found him as handsome as ever, and she adored him even more in the past years for how he'd become around his family – around her. "I guess we'll have to chance it. Perhaps we can sneak in unnoticed."

"Or," he began, moving the hand not twisted in her dark tresses down to slip around her waist in an embrace, "if they accost us, I'll put my foot down. I am still Earl of Grantham."

Robert didn't expect her to start giggling uncontrollably, her torso vibrating against his through their coats.

"And just what are you giggling at?" he inquired, tempted to tickle her so she'd continue her giggling.

"You would never put your foot down with those children. Not the way you'd like to. They all have you wrapped around their tiny fingers."

"They do not!" he expostulated, incredulous. "Just the other day I told little Violet that she could not have more than two sugary biscuits."

"And then what did you let her have instead?"

He colored, cutting his eyes to the side, sheepish. "Three iced tea cakes," he murmured.

"See?" She giggled again.

"That doesn't mean I can't put my foot down when necessary," he insisted, his lower lip extending in a pout.

Cora touched his lip with the tip of her forefinger and stopped giggling. "Of course you can, Robert," she agreed.

But Robert knew from her tone and the look on her face she was placating him. So he dug his fingers into her sides, tickling her.

"Nooooo," she laughed. "Please!" She struggled to get away from him, rolling backward. He merely rolled with her, his fingers traveling up under her arms, loving to hear her laughter.

Becoming winded, Robert finally enclosed her loosely in his arms, lying there with her, catching his breath and listening to her do the same. Cora lay her head upon his shoulder, smiling.

"If we're going to attempt sneaking in and upstairs to have enough time before the dressing gong, we should head back, darling," she said gently. "Unless you've changed your mind."

"Bite your tongue, Cora," he said, prompting a low chuckle from his wife. Sitting up with Cora on his lap, he kissed her once more, caressing her face and neck. He then gave her a hand to help her up before standing himself. Brushing the pair of them off the best he could, Robert rewound her scarf about her neck, unwilling that she should feel a chill as she drove them back.

Cora gazed into his eyes while he did this, a look of pure adoration upon her face. She handed him his gloves, which had ended up in her pockets somehow. He put them on and smiled at her, slipping his arms around her waist and holding her close one last time.

"It was a marvelous surprise, Cora. Thank you." Robert bent his head and kissed her, in some ways reluctant to go back.

Somehow sensing this, Cora murmured, "We can come back another afternoon, you know. There should be snow on the ground quite often in the next month or two." She grinned, sliding a hand down to pat his behind.

He felt a tremor of excitement at her action and her little smirk and remembered now why he'd wanted to go back home. Taking her by the hand, he led her to the sleigh and tucked the pair of them beneath the blankets, once again admiring the manner in which Cora handled their conveyance as they started home.

As Cora became more confident in her driving skills, she chirruped loudly, urging the mare to trot at a quicker rate. Robert continued to watch her, how the wind lifted her hair, the pink in her cheeks, the sparkle of her eyes, and the complete joy in her smile. It was one of those times that he couldn't believe just how much he loved her.

Moving his arm down from her shoulder, he circled her waist with it, nuzzling his face against her throat, pressing soft kisses there. Cora giggled. "Robert, you're supposed to be enjoying the scenery."

"I've seen the scenery," he said, lifting his head to say this into her ear. "I'd rather do this." Robert nibbled her earlobe and snaked a hand between her coat buttons, grazing his fingers over her abdomen through her dress.

Delightful shivers that had nothing to do with the cold danced up and down Cora's spine. "Darling, I'm trying to drive the sleigh," she said in a voice that didn't quite manage to be stern.

"And you're doing a wonderful job, Cora," he hummed against her jawline.

Over the next few minutes, Cora maintained her concentration, getting used to what Robert was doing. But then… "Robert!" she gasped, looking over at him with wide eyes.

"Mmmm" was his only reply as he twirled his tongue in the tiny hollow beneath her ear and glided his bare hand along her thigh, his fingers having found their way under her coat and dress below the blankets.

"Robert, you're going to make me do as that song says and get us caught in a drifted bank! Stop that!" She squirmed a bit, but that only made his hand slip higher.

"No, you won't," he muttered into her ear. But he kept fingers tracing light patterns along her inner thigh, watching her for a moment, waiting.

She turned her eyes front and leaned her temple against his forehead. "As long as we don't swerve, darling."

"Really?" he asked in some surprise.

"Before I change my mind, Robert."

Robert pressed a kiss to her cheek and then trailed kisses down under her chin, trying to cover every inch of skin above her scarf. While he did this, he also grazed his hand over her thighs, up and down, every pass bringing him closer to her panties.

Cora sighed, keeping her eyes open, even though she wanted to close them, and keeping her hands secure around the reins, although, as he finally pressed his fingers against her, she wanted nothing more than to curl her hand around his wrist to guide him. Not that he necessarily needed such guidance after four decades of pleasuring his wife.

When he pushed the fabric aside, stroking her with renewed fervor, his breath hot against her throat, she gasped. "Oh dear," she breathed, wetting her lips and very deliberately training her eyes front.

As Robert whispered sweet endearments next to her ear, holding her about the waist still, his hand worked to stoke a fire within her. Cora's hands began trembling around the reins, but she – in some way she really did not know – kept the sleigh steady, and the mare seemed unruffled. Honestly, her scarf began to feel too warm, heat rising into her face and down her neck, and she let out great puffs of air in her endeavor to split her attention between driving – and how Robert now drove her wild.

Cora let out a series of keening cries, the horse pricking her ears at the sound. After a few moments of writhing against Robert's hand, Cora felt her legs clinch around it, and she blinked her eyes hard while she moaned. At this, knowing he'd given her this pleasure in this way, and feeling her rock on the seat as she calmed down again, Robert became somewhat aroused himself.

"Cora?" he ventured.

"Yes," she said, her breathing starting to return to normal.

"We'll be there soon, won't we?"

"Darling, I'm barely keeping myself together after that; I need a little more time to recover," she panted.

"But, sweetheart, I – well, that made me quite eager," he intoned, pressing a kiss to her neck again, his voice husky.

"Eager?" she repeated, somewhat baffled by the word. She turned her head to glance at him.

"Yessss," he hissed into her ear. "Eager." He'd finally withdrawn his fingers from her, but his hand still rested upon her thigh, and he gave it a meaningful squeeze. Then he lifted his head to give her a certain look.

Cora nearly giggled. "Oh…. _That_ sort of eager." She smirked at him. "Well, you'll just have to try and think of something innocuous for another five minutes at least. That's the quickest we can be at the house."

"But, Cora," he murmured, "I _can't _think of anything else. I'm completely under your spell."

"You might have considered that result when you started being so naughty under these blankets," she replied in a teasing voice. "You knew I couldn't reciprocate, darling, as much as I'd like to help you." She couldn't help chuckling.

Robert groaned. "Your sense of humor appears at the oddest times, my dear."

"I'm sorry, Robert. I know I shouldn't laugh at you. But we really will arrive soon," she said, her tone more serious.

"I very much hope the children stay in the drawing room," he muttered, realizing that he should draw away from her, but unable to. He nestled against her, wishing the time when they would have no barriers between them to be closer.

And, finally, the barns came within view, and Robert sat up straighter, not wanting the groom to see him practically in his wife's lap now. It only took a few moments to hand the horse and sleigh over to the groom, and Robert grasped Cora's hand, trudging through the snow with her as quickly as possible to the front door.

"Robert," Cora laughed, panting, "you're going too fast; I'm afraid I'll trip over my own feet at this rate."

"I apologize, darling, but I am in somewhat of a hurry here." But he slowed his steps a trifle, turning to smile at her.

While outside, Robert's coat covered him modestly enough, but he prayed they would encounter no one once inside, because it would make for an incredibly embarrassing situation. _Of course_, he thought, _I could refuse to give up my coat at the door. Yes, that will work_.

He entered the door with Cora, helping her off with her coat and handing this to Barrow. But when the butler tried to take his own outer garment, Robert nearly skipped half a step back from his outstretched hands. "Oh, no, Barrow. I will keep this on, I think. I got it quite dirty whilst out this afternoon, and I'll just wear it upstairs to put in with the other laundry."

Barrow raised an eyebrow, having taken in Cora's also dirty coat and her lack of reluctance to relinquish the garment, and also the flushed faces of the pair. His eyes strayed downward for a mere instant, many years in the household having given him some insights into his employers. Yet, he simply nodded and put his hands down. "Very good, Lord Grantham," he said. "The children are still in the drawing room if you would like to –"

"No, no," Robert interrupted, already taking both Cora's shoulders and steering her into the hallway. "They're not to know we've arrived home, Barrow." He looked over his shoulder as they walked away, telling him, "If you would be so kind as to keep our presence to your –"

"Grandpapa!" came a high-pitched shriek from the doorway of the drawing room.

"Bloody hell," Robert mumbled. Cora stopped, and Robert pressed himself close to her back, his hands still on her shoulders, not wanting the children to see anything they shouldn't.

"Where have you been?" little Violet inquired, putting her hands on her hips.

Cora almost choked trying not to laugh. "Grandpapa and I had somewhere to go this afternoon."

George appeared in the doorway behind little Violet. He cocked his head at his grandparents. "Grandmama, why do you look so mussed? And, Grandpapa, you still have your coat on."

Before either of them could answer, Sybbie walked out, Rosy clinging to her hand and taking careful steps. "Horsey!" Rosy screeched, dropping Sybbie's hand and reaching her arms out toward Robert. Before she could lurch forward, though, Sybbie bent down and caught her around the waist.

"Rosy, you can't run inside the house," she admonished.

"She's only a baby, Sybbie," Charlie retorted as he, too, came up behind the others. "She doesn't know any better." He rolled his eyes.

Turning to look up at him, her face stern, Sybbie pursed her lips. "You do, but you don't mind either. So, I suppose you're a big baby?"

"Oh God," Robert whined, pressing his head down onto Cora's shoulder as the children began squabbling, Rosy straining against Sybbie's hold around her middle, her arms waving and crying out "horsey! Horsey!"

Cora's lips twitched, but she knew that Robert's "eagerness" would soon die in this noise, to be replaced by a headache.

"Grandpapa, are you alright?" Little Violet exclaimed over the rest and stared at him, her eyes round.

"No," he groaned, not moving. "Cora," he whispered into her shoulder just loudly enough for her to hear, "soon they'll all be out here, and we won't have the rest of the afternoon to ourselves." He sounded pathetic.

Cora raised her voice so the children would hear. "Quiet, all of you. Stop quarrelling and go back into the drawing room to finish your tea."

"But, Grandmama! Grandpapa –"

Shaking her head sternly, Cora put her hands on her hips. She wasn't often severe with the children, but she felt the press of Robert's arousal against her behind, even through his coat, and her own excitement had been renewed. "Go back in the drawing room and finish your tea. Grandpapa isn't feeling well, so I'll be taking him upstairs and putting him to bed." She could tell Robert grinned against her shoulder at this.

The children grumbled, but started returning to the drawing room.

"Now," Cora whispered, suppressing a chuckle as Robert steered her once more, almost pushing her up the stairs. She knew he couldn't wait for her to put him to bed.


End file.
